After a month or so of working with sourdough starter and making the most fabulous bread you never even dreamed of, you begin to realize you’ve created a monster: that sourdough starter that always needs to be fed, and of course, the discard for the days when you don’t make bread. After a few weeks of pouring the discard down the sink (because learning how to use the discard was more than I was willing to take on while trying to learn to make fabulous sourdough bread), I started saving the discard in a quart jar in the refrigerator. I’ve tried making crackers a few times—all failures, unfortunately, and made some pretty good cornbread muffins. I hadn’t had time to try out any other discard recipes, what with all the goings on of the Christmas season.
So I had a quart of sourdough discard in the refrigerator. I was not about to throw it away; that would be wasteful. I was also not about to start another jar of discard. That would be silly. I’d read that the discard made delightful waffles and went in search of some recipes. The first couple were quickly rejected. I wasn’t using anything that called for a pancake mix and likewise avoided the vegan recipe, as well as the one that insisted on weighing the ingredients. I understand that weighing is more accurate and may yield better results, but in my world, and perhaps yours as well, I just won’t have the time to weigh out waffle ingredients and do the extra dishes.
Sourdough Discard Waffles
1 cup sourdough discard
½ cup milk
¼ cup melted butter, warm not hot
2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ cups flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
In a large bowl, combine the first five ingredients, mixing well. Be sure the melted butter is warm, not hot. (You don’t want it to cook the eggs or over-activate the baking powder.)
Combine the dry ingredients in a medium bowl, mixing well, and then add to the wet ingredients. Stir until everything is well-incorporated and there are no lumps.
Spray the preheated waffle maker well and spoon the batter in.
Notes:
If I hadn’t been in a hurry, I would have used powdered milk and coconut
oil. I will definitely make these
substitutions next time. Also, I doubled this recipe for four of us, and that covered dinner and lunches for three the next day, and I still have a couple of waffles in the refrigerator.
Family reviews: I loathe those waffles that taste like you just used pancake mix and as a result the waffles are about as floppy as pancakes. These are not like that at all. They’re beautifully crispy on the outside and fully cooked and tender inside. I sprinkled frozen blueberries over the batter before closing the lid of the waffle iron. They stuck a bit to the top, so I probably won’t do that again. We topped them with butter, blueberry syrup, and just for good measure because we had it, a little spritz of whipped cream. They’re my new favorite waffles. I’m even going to have a leftover one for breakfast today, and I don’t think I’ve ever eaten leftover waffles. Not only were they happily eaten for dinner, they were also requested for lunchboxes the following day.
Links to related posts:
How many waffles does this make?
ReplyDeleteI'd say it varies according to the size of your waffle maker. A single batch of this recipe makes four full waffles in my waffle maker, and each waffle can be broken into four squares. It serves four adults easily.
DeleteThanks. I too am a great fan and look forward to reading your blog each day. Really like your books as well. Thanks again.
DeleteThank you so much for your great, family-tested recipes--I really enjoy your articles day after day, and appreciate the practical nature of each one.
ReplyDeleteYou know, there are days when I wonder if I am making any difference, and then I tell myself that it just doesn't matter. It's what I want my children and grandchildren to know. But I really do appreciate hearing from others as well. Thank you so much.
DeleteOne of my favorite sourdough discard recipes is crackers. I have a recipe I've been making for years (long before I seriously began attempting bread) that is quick and easy and makes great crackers. I also found a WONDERFUL recipe for making pizza with sourdough discard and essentially ONLY sourdough discard that's also really easy. The original instructions included making a cream sauce to use instead of a tomato-based sauce that is divine! Here's the link to the recipe: https://www.farmhouseonboone.com/sourdough-pizza-with-pesto-and-cream-sauce
ReplyDeleteShe has LOTS of recipes for sourdough and even more for using the discard. In addition to the discard pizza, I've also made her bagels and brownies and both turned out great. I've printed lots of her recipes to try--they all seem to have really good reviews. If you'd like my recipe for crackers to try, let me know and I'll type it up for you.
And btw, you ARE making a difference! I've read pretty much every article you've published and shared many of them with a group I host. I've also bought all your books. I appreciate anything and everything that you share!
I would super love to have your cracker recipe. I haven't been happy with any cracker recipes I have tried, and I've tried a lot. Maybe I just can't make crackers?
DeleteAnd thank you so much for your kind words. They mean the world to me.
Here's my cracker recipe, which btw, I've shared with several other people who've been able to make them successfully too!
Delete1 cup sourdough starter
1/3 cup melted butter, olive oil, or melted & cooled coconut oil (I've used all 3 but prefer the coconut oil)
1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds (I buy black ones that are already toasted from Amazon, but any will do)
1 tbsp ground chia seeds (optional, but I think they help make the crackers a bit firmer)
OR 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (optional)
Whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt, plus extra for topping
In a small bowl, stir together starter and butter or oil. Add sesame seeds and chia or flax seeds and 1 cup flour. Mix well, then continue adding flour and mixing until you have a stiff dough. Cover and set aside for 8-12 hours.
After the dough has soured, preheat oven with baking stone to 375 degrees. Place your dough ball on the counter and break apart a little with your fingers. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the dough and knead to incorporate. Divide dough into fourths and with a rolling pin, roll out each piece very thinly between 2 large pieces of parchment paper. Carefully remove top piece of parchment and sprinkle extra salt (if you have coarse salt, that's ideal) over the rolled out dough; lightly roll over it to press into the dough. Then use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into squares (outside edges will be somewhat raggedy, but that's okay).
Place parchment paper with dough in hot oven on baking stone. Bake about 7-8 minutes. When crackers are done (lightly browned and crispy on the edges), transfer the parchment with the crackers to a large roasting pan on a cooling rack. Repeat with remaining pieces of dough, piling each parchment of crackers on top of those already baked.
After all the crackers are baked, turn off oven, wait about 5 minutes and then return the pan with all the baked crackers into the oven and leave until cooled. When cooled, store in airtight container.
I'm sorry this is so long, but I wanted you to know EXACTLY how I make them. I really think returning the pan with all the crackers is key to having them become nice and crispy. I usually start the dough in the morning, bake the crackers at night and then leave them in the oven cooling until the next morning. They are crispy and delicious! I hope this works well for you too! And if you have any questions, just let me know.